The ever “more electric” development of airplanes constitutes one of the major challenges for research and innovation policies undertaken by the aviation industry. Electrical energy offers numerous advantages compared with energy that is mechanical, hydraulic, or pneumatic, including improved equipment integration, reduced maintenance costs, simplified use, reduced weight, etc.
Major civil or military programs give opportunities for introducing technological changes serving to replace conventional systems with electrical systems. Among the most striking changes, mention may be made of the introduction of electrical “fly-by-wire” controls on the Airbus A320, electrical thrust reversal on the Airbus A380, electrical braking on the Boeing 787, etc.
The development of electrical systems has led to a large increase in the number of electromechanical actuators that, in order to operate, require in particular control members and power converter members. Control members are used to control inverters associated with the electric motors of the electromechanical actuators as a function of setpoints and of a variety of measurements (rotor position, angular speed, etc.). The power converter members are used for delivering direct current (DC) power supply voltages (e.g. at 28 volts) or alternating current (AC) power supply voltages (e.g. 115/230 volts-400 hertz) to pieces of electrical equipment. Those control and converter members generally make use of servo-control, making it necessary to acquire measurements using sensors for sensing linear or angular position, speed, current, voltage, etc.
Each application requires control and power converter members having certain characteristics that depend on the application (generating control laws, values or frequencies for output voltages, etc.). It is therefore necessary for each new application to make new pieces of equipment, and that represents cost that is high in terms of development, certification, and fabrication of those pieces of equipment, and leads to uncertainties as to the performance of such new equipment in terms of safety and reliability.